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Kentucky opened up a double-digit lead in the first half, extended that lead to as many as 16 in the second half, weathered a flurry from Mizzou, and took control late for a 91-83 victory on the road.
The win for Kentucky (21-10, 10-8 SEC) extended the Wildcats’ streak of consecutive 10-win seasons in league play to 4. It also gave Kentucky its eighth win over an AP Top 15 opponent during the regular season, setting a new program record and tying the 1978-79 Duke Blue Devils and the 1992-93 Indiana Hoosiers for the most in a single season.
Mizzou (21-10, 10-8) will head into the SEC Tournament off of 4 losses in 5 games.
Otega Oweh led the Wildcats with 22 points on 6-of-17 shooting. He made 8 of his 10 free throws. Koby Brea added 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Andrew Carr notched a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Amari Williams added 14 points and 8 boards while making 10 of his 12 free throws.
Fourteen of the Wildcats’ final 16 points came from the foul line. The charity stripe was huge for Kentucky all game; it outscored Mizzou 26-14 on free throws and outshot Mizzou 33-21.
Mark Mitchell scored 22 to lead the Tigers. Marques Warrick added 17 points while Jacob Crews provided 12. In his final game, Caleb Grill was held to 8 points on 2-of-6 shooting before fouling out.
Kentucky led by 9 at the halftime break thanks to 7 made triples in the first half. The Tigers actually opened the game with an 11-4 lead before 3 straight triples from Kentucky flipped the game. The Wildcats never trailed over the final 30 minutes of the game.
Mizzou made its run with under 10 to play in the second half. Warrick banged home back-to-back triples in the span of a minute to ignite a 10-0 run that got the Tigers within 5 points.
The 2 sides went back and forth for the next few minutes before Kentucky stretched its lead back to double figures with a mini 6-0 run. The Tigers tried to extend the game in the closing minutes but Kentucky made its free throws.
Kentucky will begin play in the SEC Tournament as either the 5, 6, or 7-seed depending on what happens elsewhere around the league on Saturday. Mizzou will either be the 7 or 8-seed.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
